Social Informatics of Information Value Cocreation: A

Case Study of Xiaomi’s Online User Community

Loo Geok Pee

Nanyang Technological University, 31 Nanyang Link, #05-06, 637718, Singapore. E-mail: [email protected]

Shan L. Pan
The University of New South Wales, Level 2, West Wing, Quadrangle Building, Sydney, 2052, Australia.
E-mail: [email protected]

Mingwei Li*
Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China. E-mail: lmw19890214@buaa.
edu.cn

Suling Jia
Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China. E-mail: [email protected]

The perennial issue of information value creation needs to and use of common cocreation technology such as discus-
be understood in the contemporary era of a more networked sion forums.
user environment enabled by information technology (IT). Introduction
This mixed-methods study investigates information value
cocreation from the social informatics perspective to surface There is increasingly a need for research on information
sociotechnical implications for IT design and use, since value cocreation, as advances in information technology
cocreation is inherently social and technology-mediated. (IT) increasingly connect knowledgeable users beyond the
Specifically, the cocreation of software as an information-
intensive product is examined. Data on the cocreation of
organized professional context of information provision to
Xiaomi’s MIUI firmware were collected from two sources: providers of information products and services (Foster &
49 interviews of staff and user participants and web Clough, 2018). Users are becoming more active in cocreating
crawling of the cocreation platform. They were ana- information-intensive products such as software and services
lyzed with interpretive analysis, topic modeling, and such as public libraries for information urbanism (Mainka
social network analysis for triangulation. Findings indicate
three sociotechnical information practices co-constituted et al., 2016; Osborne, Radnor, & Strokosch, 2016), through
by information, IT, people, and their activities. Each prac- “processes … to access and aggregate across many minds,
tice is instrumental in rapidly and continuously conver- their deliberative rather than hierarchical approach to the pro-
ting external information into cocreated information cess of value creation, and their production of information
value. The adsorption information practice attracts new goods that exist in a peer produced space that invites further
and diverse external information; the absorption prac-
tice integrates external and internal information rapidly contribution” (Foster & Clough, 2018, p. 747). Cocreated
by involving users; the desorption practice allows rapid information value accounts for the multiplicity of networked
adoption of the cocreated product so that information users and user-provider interactions, thereby extending tradi-
value can be realized and demonstrated for further tional notions of information value in exchange (for instance,
cocreation. Critically analyzing these practices reveals
unanticipated or paradoxical issues affecting the design
value embedded in information products) and value in use
(for instance, information applied to solve a problem).
Because information value cocreation is primarily enabled
*Corresponding author
by IT and is inherently social in nature, this study’s objective
was to draw implications for IT design and use based on a
Received August 10, 2018; revised March 22, 2019; accepted April sociotechnical understanding of cocreation. We seek to address
14, 2019 a key gap in information science research, as highlighted by
© 2019 ASIS&T • Published online May 17, 2019 in Wiley Online Foster and Clough (2018): “how networked information pro-
Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/asi.24252 duction … feed into the development and provision of

JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 71(4):409–422, 2020
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traditional information products and services are under re- The success and longevity of Xiaomi’s software cocreation
searched questions in terms of existing information value con- warrants a close examination of how it cocreates information
cepts and models” (p. 745) … “The emergence of an active value with the online user community.
user means that value is not only value added but also Findings from interviews of Xiaomi staff and users who
cocreated. What does this mean for a value-added model of participated in cocreation as well as analysis of social inter-
information systems and services? And what methods can be actions in the online cocreation platform indicate three key
used to underpin the coproduction and cocreation of value in information practices that offer critical insights for IT design
search, information services etc.?” (p. 747). This study com- and use. The adsorption information practice attracts new
plements existing research on cocreation, which has mostly and diverse external information from users continuously;
adopted marketing or business theories and focused on cus- the absorption practice integrates external and internal infor-
tomers, products, or services (Galvagno & Dalli, 2014), by mation rapidly by involving users directly; the desorption
examining how external information is gathered through an practice drives immediate adoption of the cocreated infor-
online platform and converted into cocreated information mation product so that the cocreated information value can
value. This information science perspective is essential as be realized and demonstrated for further cocreation. The
cocreation with users always involved in information flow. sociomateriality of these information practices sheds light
To achieve our research objective, we take the social on the configurations of information, IT, people, and activ-
informatics perspective to analyze a case of online software ities underlying continuous and rapid information value
cocreation. Social informatics is the study of interrelation- cocreation. Critically analyzing situational variations of these
ships among IT, the people who use them, and the context information practices reveal unanticipated or paradoxical
of use to inform the design or use of IT (Kling, 2007). The issues affecting the design and use of common cocreation
problem-driven perspective emphasizes informing profes- technologies such as online discussion forums, online polling,
sional practice by understanding IT “so that they are actu- and activity-based user ranking. Overall, this study contrib-
ally workable for people” (Kling, 2007, p. 210) and helps utes to research and practice by delineating the key informa-
to avoid technological designs and implementations with- tion cocreation practices and offering suggestions for avoiding
out adequate consideration of the social context. Social infor- the pitfalls of technology determinism in IT design and use.
matics views IT and the social setting as embedded in a This is also one of the earliest attempts to study information
sociotechnical relationship of mutual shaping (Kling, 2007). value cocreation using multiple complementary data sources.
Instead of focusing exclusively on technology, sociotechnical
relationships are critically analyzed, often leading to the
discovery of unanticipated, paradoxical issues affecting IT Conceptual Background
design and use. To reveal sociotechnical relationships, social This study seeks to draw implications for IT design and
informatics scholars have recommended incorporating socio- use in information value cocreation, through a case study of
material practice approaches to understand how people and online software cocreation. We approach the research objec-
IT interact (Cox, 2014; Jarrahi & Nelson, 2018; McCoy & tive from the social informatics perspective, which involves
Rosenbaum, 2019). Accordingly, we identify sociomaterial critically analyzing sociotechnical relationships among peo-
information practices in information value cocreation and ple, IT, and context. The relationships are delineated in
critically analyze them to uncover unanticipated issues affect- terms of information practices, following the recommenda-
ing IT design and use. Information practices “foreground the tions of social informatics scholars (Cox, 2014; Jarrahi &
interplay between individual choices and environments, the Nelson, 2018; McCoy & Rosenbaum, 2019).
forces of social context, and the embeddedness of information-
related actions” (Jarrahi & Thomson, 2017, p. 1076), and
Information Value Cocreation
thereby offers an understanding of information, people,
IT, and context as inextricably fused assemblages rather than Information value refers to the worth or usefulness of infor-
separate elements of practice (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Galliers, mation (Foster & Clough, 2018). Cocreation of information
Henfridsson, Newell, & Vidgen, 2014). value is enabled by the widespread diffusion of Internet tech-
Data about Xiaomi Corporation’s software cocreation with nologies that provide a networked environment for the flow of
its online user community were collected and analyzed. information; the availability of tools for information produc-
Xiaomi is one of the world’s top five smartphone manufac- tion, allowing not only professionals but also users to be
turers (McCaskill, 2018). At the heart of a Xiaomi smartphone involved in the production; and the emergence of active rather
is its preinstalled firmware, MIUI, which allows users to cus- than passive users (Foster & Clough, 2018). Cocreation allows
tomize the user interface and tweak their smartphones. MIUI knowledge to flow across the institutional boundary separating
had more than 300 million active users globally as of January internal and external knowledge and acknowledges that users’
2019. Every week since its launch in August 2010, Xiaomi knowledge is at least as valuable as professional knowledge
released a new beta version of MIUI that incorporates new (Mainka et al., 2016). Cocreated information value accounts
features or bug fixes cocreated with users through its online for interactions involving diverse users in a more connected
platform. This resonates with many users, who actively partici- and networked environment as a source of value (Foster &
pate and contribute an average of 1,191 posts and replies daily. Clough, 2018).

410 JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY—April 2020
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Information value cocreation has its roots in open innova- it. Common critical findings include the paradoxical effects
tion. Open innovation differentiates among three processes of technology use and unanticipated differences in benefits
(Chesbrough, 2006; Enkel, Gassmann, & Chesbrough, 2009). accrued for different users. The critical orientation rejects
The outside-in process involves enriching an organization’s the view that IT exists in social or technological isolation
knowledge base through the integration of external information and is a key feature of social informatics research.
sources such as customers, suppliers, and research institutions. The sociotechnical focus of social informatics can be
The inside-out process refers to generating profits by transfer- advanced by attending to people’s practices when they inter-
ring ideas to other organizations through licensing or multi- act with IT (Cox, 2014; Jarrahi & Nelson, 2018; McCoy &
plying technology. The coupled process refers to cocreation, Rosenbaum, 2019). Incorporating an understanding of socio-
which combines the outside-in process (to gain external material practices (micro-framing) into the social informatics
information) with the inside-out process (to take ideas to perspective (macro-framing) “foregrounds the fact that tech-
market) and focuses strongly on peer production through nologies are embedded in networks of people, organizations
communities, consumers, lead users, or research institutes. and other social contexts, and other material artifacts with
Cocreation has been studied from knowledge, behavioral, shifting boundaries, which have consequences for the prac-
organizational, strategic, and legal perspectives (Enkel et al., tices of users” (McCoy & Rosenbaum, 2019, p. 2). Detailing
2009), and is expected to generate value in the form of an practices also complements social informatics by providing
enhanced knowledge base, better products/services, mone- a viable way of representing particular technological fea-
tary profit, and customer satisfaction (Nambisan & Baron, tures, functions, or behaviors that IT allows, supports, or
2009; Suseno, Laurell, & Sick, 2018). Although it is gener- defers. Accordingly, we delineate sociotechnical relation-
ally believed that cocreation improves access to external ships in information value cocreation in terms of information
information, our understanding of how external information practices before analyzing them critically to draw implica-
is turned into cocreated information value has remained lim- tions for IT design and use. The information practice theory
ited. Most research has focused on analyzing cocreation is described next.
from the perspective of the host company, customer, or prod-
uct rather than information, and adopted a theoretical lens in
Information Practice
service science, innovation and technology, management, and
marketing and consumer research rather than information sci- Understanding practice is necessary from the social infor-
ence (Galvagno & Dalli, 2014). This study seeks to fill this matics perspective, as “the design and configuration of infor-
gap by examining the cocreation of information value. mation systems that work well for people and help support
their work … are neither obvious nor effective when they are
based on technological considerations alone. Their formula-
Social Informatics Perspective
tion requires understanding how people work and what kind
The social informatics perspective informs the design of organizational practices obtain” (Kling, 2007, p. 206).
and use of IT by taking into account their interaction with Practices describe “social phenomena in a processual way
social and institutional contexts (Kling, 2007). It is there- without losing touch with the mundane nature of everyday
fore a useful lens for understanding information value life and the concrete and material nature of the activities with
cocreation in an online community of software product which we are all involved” (Nicolini, 2012, p. 9). It empha-
users, which is primarily technology-mediated and inher- sizes people’s actions and the performativity of artifacts, con-
ently social. Social informatics considers the social con- ceiving a practice as “the intermeshing of the discursive and
text as a matrix of social relationships and views it as part the material that is mutually constitutive and continuously
of a sociotechnical system comprising people, hardware, becoming” (Cecez-Kecmanovic et al., 2014, p. 815).
software, techniques, processes, and information in an This study focuses on information practices in informa-
interdependent relationship. It is not uncommon for a tion value cocreation due to its information intensiveness.
technology to have varied, conflicting consequences in An information practice is “an array of information related
different contexts. To improve the design and workability activities and skills, constituted, justified and organized
of IT for various users, social informatics examines how through the arrangements of a social site, and mediated
people work in practice, often across technologies and socially and materially with the aim of producing shared
social boundaries. understanding and mutual agreement about ways of know-
The social informatics perspective involves normative, ing and recognizing how performance is enacted, enabled
analytical, and critical orientations (Kling, 2000). The nor- and constrained in collective situated action” (Lloyd, 2011,
mative orientation focuses on recommending alternatives p. 285). Information practices are a means to become
for professionals who design, implement, or develop IT informed and gain knowledge, constituting activities that
policies. The analytical orientation contributes to theorizing focus on manipulating information as an object. Informa-
about IT in its social or institutional contexts. The critical tion practices are fundamentally processual and tend to see
orientation examines IT by challenging basic assumptions the world as an ongoing routinized and recurrent accom-
around the use and design of IT rather than automatically plishment, consisting of several elements interconnected to
adopting the goals and beliefs of those who commission one another: social actors, bodily or mental activities, material

JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY—April 2020 411
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rather than confirmatory analyses, as information value
cocreation is not yet well theorized (Pan & Tan, 2011).
Second, cocreation is still an emerging rather than stable
phenomena and the interpretive approach is particularly
suitable, as it permits new, unexpected observations that
were not identifiable at the outset of the inquiry to emerge
(Klein & Myers, 1999). Third, clarifying the nature of
information value cocreation requires in-depth and multi-
faceted investigations of sociotechnical issues in their real-
life social contexts and an in-depth case study is therefore
necessary. This section details the data collection process
and analyses conducted, followed by the case description.

Data Collection and Analytical Approach

To study online cocreation at Xiaomi, we collected both
primary and secondary data in two steps. First, after research
access was granted in March 2017, we gathered secondary
FIG. 1. Information practice and its intertwining constituents. data from a variety of sources, including newspapers and
websites. They provided background information on the
artifacts and their use, and information (see Figure 1). They case, such as how and when the online community started.
are co-constituting and inextricable—a practice is unthink- We also gathered information from Xiaomi’s website, such
able when any one of them is missing (Cecez-Kecmanovic as the stated purpose of each cocreation activity.
et al., 2014). It is possible to untie the knots of sociomaterial Second, we collected two sets of primary data that are
assemblages only analytically (Orlikowski & Scott, 2008). essential for understanding Xiaomi’s cocreation: interviews of
Information practices are shared sociomaterial patterns that Xiaomi staff and users as well as the actual social interactions
recur over time, but are also prone to change. To engage in in the online cocreation platform. Researchers studying online
practices, people must develop know-how and competencies social networks have emphasized the need to adequately
and involve material things in a socially recognizable way. account for the multidimensional nature of social networks by
But because practices are enacted through individuals in spe- combining and triangulating different data, including data on
cific situations, they are also open to improvisation and crea- content (user-generated data crawled online), relations (struc-
tivity, and this over time may change the practices. tural data crawled online), and experiences (reported data col-
Information practice theory has gained momentum in lected through interviews; Behrendt, Richter, & Trier, 2014;
information science research. For example, Greyson (2018) Whelan, Teigland, Vaast, & Butler, 2016). The diversity of
identified the health information triangulation practices of data calls for a mixed-methods approach that combines
young parents, described as complex practices that weave qualitative and quantitative methods, and “a mixed methods
together different information activities and sources. One of research approach … yields additional insights and improves
the practices is inclusive triangulation, which involves com- the validity of the results by means of triangulation, that is, a
paring information from an authoritative source against mul- systematic comparison of results from different sources of
tiple other sources, both authoritative and nonauthoritative. evidence” (Behrendt et al., 2014, p. 566). Specifically, among
Our study contributes to this literature by delineating infor- the six major mixed-methods designs presented by Creswell
mation practices in value cocreation as part of the social and Clark (2017), we used a convergent parallel design to
informatics analysis. In another study, Isah and Byström develop a more complete understanding of the domain of
(2016) identified the practice of intertwined access to patient interest. Accordingly, we collected the two sets of data simul-
care information, which involves obtaining information from taneously, analyzed them separately, and then examined the
complementary textual, physical, and social sources varying consistency of the findings.
in value. The actor not only accesses information, but also For the interviews, we visited Xiaomi’s headquarter five
provides access to information through learning at work. times to meet 14 managers and software engineers. We also
Our study contributes to this literature by delineating infor- interviewed 11 users who participated in cocreation. In addition,
mation practices in value cocreation as part of the social we had informal interviews in person with eight employees and
informatics analysis. online with seven employees and nine users. Each interview
lasted 1 to 2 hours. In total, we interviewed 29 employees and
20 users. These interviews allowed us to understand how infor-
Research Method
mants made sense of the different activities they engaged in,
To study the social informatics of information value their roles, IT used, as well as the interrelationships among these
cocreation, we used the case research method for several elements. We also retrieved content from the online platform
reasons. First, our research objective calls for exploratory using a web crawler, along with other information such as name

412 JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY—April 2020
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and role (for instance, staff or user) of participants. These data The large content corpus collected from the online commu-
offered a detailed view of the actual amount of activities, the nity demanded social media analytics (Stieglitz, Mirbabaie,
nature of information flowing through different activities, and Ross, & Neuberger, 2018). In addition to descriptive statistics
social interactions between staff and users. It served as an impor- (for instance, number of posts in each cocreation activity),
tant and independent data source for enhancing validity through topic modeling was conducted to understand the nature of
triangulation (Klein & Myers, 1999). The two data sets were information flowing through different activities, and social net-
expected to elaborate findings from one another, delineate over- work analysis was performed to examine interactions between
lapping but distinct aspects of a phenomenon, or expand poten- users and Xiaomi staff. In topic modeling, Latent Dirichlet
tial findings. Allocation (LDA) was used to cluster the content constitut-
The two data sets required different analytical methods. The ing 10,028,197 words into distinct topics. It went beyond
interview data were qualitatively interpreted and coded through word count to discover abstract topics in a corpus based on
multiple and independent readings by the authors and two post- clusters of words found in each document and their respective
graduate research assistants. The first author developed the ini- frequency. To determine the number of topics representing a
tial set of information practices by summarizing narratives in a corpus, perplexity analysis was conducted to estimate and
tabular form and categorizing them into emerging themes. choose an internally coherent and consistent topic model (Blei,
There were four sets of 33 narratives, which correspond to the Ng, & Jordan, 2003, p. 993). In social network analysis, degree
four cocreation activities Xiaomi offered in its online platform, centrality was calculated to identify key participants and
namely: “new feature suggestion,” “bug reporting,” “polling,” community analysis was conducted to identify key clusters.
and “beta release.” To identify information practices, themes Figure 2 summarizes how our research objective guided data
were identified inductively through interpretive analysis. For collection and analytical approaches.
example, we observed that the narratives related to “new feature
suggestion” and “bug reporting” shared many similarities and
Case Description
therefore merged them into a single theme. Constant compari-
son was used to see whether a narrative belongs to one theme This section describes the background of Xiaomi’s cocreation
or another—and from there compared the content of one theme and the cocreation activities offered in the online platform.
with another. The goal was to “discern conceptual similarities, Xiaomi was established in 2010 and the founders invited
to refine the discriminative power of categories, and to discover 100 geek users from various software developer forums to try
patterns” (Boeije, 2002, p. 393). The other authors also played its firmware, MIUI. MIUI is stored in a smartphone’s read-
the role of devil’s advocates by questioning the analyses, pur- only memory to control the physical device and manipulate
posively looking for counter evidence (for instance, the data. MIUI can be installed on Xiaomi’s smartphones, as well
themes identified were not as comprehensive as inferred). as Android-based devices by other manufacturers such as
This prompted discussions that led to further refinements Samsung, Sony, HTC, and Google Nexus. Users were invited
and better agreement among data, analyses, and results. All to suggest ideas for improving MIUI and identify bugs, which
the data were in Chinese and were translated into English Xiaomi promised to incorporate into new beta versions
by the bilingual authors for reporting. released weekly on Fridays. Motivated by the highly visible

FIG. 2. Research objective and corresponding analytical approach. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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FIG. 3. Call-to-actions on the landing page of Xiaomi’s online cocreation platform (English translation in brackets). [Color figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]

In beta release, a new software version embodying new

features and bug fixes cocreated with users is announced
through an online forum post. The weekly release is named
“Orange Fridays” to mark the brand color of Xiaomi. A
description of all new features and bugs fixes are provided
with each release, along with the installation instruction.
FIG. 4. Stamps indicating the status of a bug report (English translation in
Software engineers could respond to user queries regarding
brackets). [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] the new version as they see fit. Users are encouraged to
share their opinions and experience of a new version in the
forum.
impact of their power to influence product development,
more and more users joined and actively participated in
cocreation. MIUI users grew rapidly to about 500,000 a
Interpretive Analyses and Findings
year later, as Xiaomi began selling its smartphones with the
software preinstalled. Users had been participating very Information Practices in Cocreation
actively in cocreation. As of March 31, 2018, users contrib-
Three information practices emerged in data analyses: infor-
uted an average of 1,191 posts and replies daily.
mation adsorption, absorption, and desorption. Each practice
Xiaomi offered four cocreation activities in its online
has a critical role in sourcing information from not only profes-
platform, named “new feature suggestion,” “bug reporting,”
sionals but also voluntary, active users in a networked environ-
“polling,” and “beta release.” The call-to-action buttons
ment and in turning the external information into a productive,
for these activities appeared conspicuously on the landing
valuable form through user-provider as well as user–user inter-
webpage of the cocreation platform (see Figure 3). In new
actions and negotiations. Each sociomaterial practice is dis-
feature suggestion, users could submit new ideas for fea-
cussed next by highlighting how it is performative, processual,
tures and functions they wish to see in future beta versions
and recurrent (Nicolini, 2012) as information value is being
of the software by creating a new post in the corresponding
cocreated. We also analyzed how the three information prac-
online discussion forum. Posts were categorized according
tices are interrelated as recommended by Nicolini (2012).
to the aspect of interest; for instance, file management, cam-
era, voice assistance, or mobile payment. As of March 31,
2018, there were 76 categories and an average of 59 new Information adsorption. As an information practice, adsorp-
suggestion posts daily. tion is performative in that it offers access to diverse and new
The bug reporting activity is similar to the new feature sug- external information for value cocreation by attracting external
gestion activity, except that the focus is on bugs rather than information sources (for instance, end users) to contribute
new ideas. Software engineers could respond by stamping a through the online cocreation platform. Adsorption involves
bug report to indicate its status (see Figure 4). Bugs are priori- various informational activities, actors, and IT in an inextrica-
tized and fixed in new beta releases. ble, mutually constituting sociomaterial relationship. Xiaomi’s
In polling, users could indicate their preferences by vot- adsorption manifests in two online activities, officially named
ing and commenting. For example, Figure 5 shows options “new feature suggestion” and “bug report.” Each instance of
and results in a poll about file management, displayed to the activities is initiated by users who ideate new features
users after they have voted. Users could justify their votes inspired by day-to-day use or encounter bugs. Users contribute
by posting comments in text. Poll results helped to priori- new ideas or report bugs by submitting posts to the
tize the new features or bug fixes to implement. corresponding online forum. Posts remain persistent in the

414 JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY—April 2020
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FIG. 5. A poll on new features for file management (English translation in brackets). [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

online platform and allow information contributed to be We will look into this. It’s a very nice idea. Thanks for the
accessed, rated, and commented on by Xiaomi staff or other suggestion.
users. Staff often responds by expressing gratitude for users’
input, explaining how a suggestion or bug will be acted upon, Engineers’ responsiveness, clearly visible to all users in
or seeking further details. Other users typically add information the online platform, make users feel that their input is
or indicate support by sharing their own opinion or experience. instrumental to product development and motivates their
Users receive additional participation credits for contributing continuous participation. Users interviewed commented:
highly rated posts, in addition to credits for posting. The sub-
mitted posts make external information arising in the users’ Shortly after I suggested the idea, an engineer replied that it would
mind and personal experience visible to Xiaomi’s staff. This is be incorporated soon. It’s really nice that our views are taken seri-
made possible in a large-scale yet efficient manner by the online ously. … This keeps me coming back to the community.
platform. Carrying out the practice offline would have been
prohibitively costly and cumbersome. The IT platform holds This inclusive, mutually reinforcing online interaction between
information resulting from actors enacting the adsorption prac- users and staff is instrumental in perpetuating the inflow of
tice so that it is accessible for further cocreation. Different diverse information for developing MIUI. The diversity is
instances of the practice vary in the content of ideas/bugs and the clearly visible in the results of topic modeling, which identified
context giving rise to them. Yet the practice remains intelligible 15 topics in each of the new feature suggestion and bug
by the horizon of actions it makes available to users and staff. reporting activities, as opposed to eight in each of the other
The potentiality to access diverse external information activities.
is built on interrelationships among the practice elements The sociomateriality of Xiaomi’s adsorption practice also
that can be characterized as encompassing. As the first attracts new external information by being empowering. Users
point of contact, the call-to-action buttons on the online are typically the most powerful in adsorption, as they have the
platform are labeled with broad taglines prompting social free will to decide whether to participate. By ranking users
interactions, that is, “Let’s chat about the MIUI you want” based on their participation, Xiaomi inadvertently balances the
and “There’s a bug? Tell me.” They urge users to commu- power through empowering them. Users are ranked according
nicate and appear to welcome any user and any input. The to their participation credits, earned through posting new ideas
online platform allows any user with a web browser and or reporting bugs. There are eight ranks labeled to indicate a
Internet connection to participate by submitting a post. The user’s level of experience (for instance, newbie, master, wiz-
user interface for posting new ideas or bugs is easy for ard) and a user’s rank is shown right next to the username in
those with Internet browsing experience, requiring only a all posts. Highly ranked users who have contributed “wild
title, message, and category (from a dropdown list; for ideas or original, high-quality content” as judged by engineers
instance, camera, calendar, file manager). Analysis of the can apply to join elite groups. Elite users are regarded as expert
online platform shows that all posts are replied to by geeks who qualify to become alpha testers, online forum mod-
Xiaomi staff promptly, within 7 to 9 hours on average. For erators, and even members of the software development team
instance, an engineer responded to a suggestion about file working directly alongside Xiaomi’s staff. They also have
management as follows: exclusive privileges such as paid-for trips to Xiaomi’s annual

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“family banquet” at the headquarters, where 200 selected users staff or highly ranked users create online polls with a ques-
meet senior managers, company founders, and staff in person tion and a number of answer options. Analysis of the online
and enjoy their performances. Attending the banquet is on the platform indicates that Xiaomi staff creates up to six polls
wish list of many Xiaomi users, as an ardent user expressed: per month and users create up to 48 polls per month. Polling
offers access to information about users’ general preference
Xiaomi banquet is a gathering that users look forward to. It and helps Xiaomi staff determine the priority and best solu-
represents the highest honor for a Xiaomi user. … I was very tion for incorporating a new feature or bug. Users, staff,
happy and excited to be invited. It was of course a strong their informational activities of polling, voting, integrating,
motivation for me to contribute more. and the online polling forum are inextricable for enacting
the practice. Users and staff exist in the form of a virtual
Empowering users with ranking elicits social comparison user profile in the online polling forum, which is neither
among users and thereby motivates novel input. To maintain strictly human nor technical. Absorption occurs and recurs
the status, elite users also contribute more intensely to the to sort through the large amount of diverse and new infor-
development and inspire other users to engage in cocreation. mation constantly flowing in from external sources resulting
Analysis of posts in the online platform indicates that the new from the adsorption practice.
feature suggestion activity attracted an average of 59 new sub- The sociomateriality of the absorption practice brings the
missions daily, while bug reporting attracted 206 new submis- most valuable external information to light by affording con-
sions daily. The social network’s degree centrality painted a sensus. Online polling makes it possible to gather the opin-
more detailed picture of users who post new information (see ion of a large number of users efficiently (up to 31,577
Table 1). Users who contributed popular new posts (that is, votes in a 7-day poll) and makes the majority opinion visi-
high in-degree) were not the same as those who reply fre- ble to all users and staff in the form of poll results. Xiaomi
quently (that is, high out-degree). On average, those who con- staff often turned to online polling when several viable
tributed popular new feature suggestions tended to submit 5.3 options exist. A manager explained:
new posts per hour spent in the platform, compared to 0.8 by
the other group. They spent slightly more time than the other We should trust users’ intuition. Users are not professionals so
group (5,19 h in total per user vs. 488), although the differ- they don’t need to know the product deeply. It’s adequate that
ence was small. These suggest that contributions of new infor- the product meets their needs. Their gut feel is often the most
mation is independent of one’s tenure with the community. accurate.
Users tend to post issues related to multiple rather than a sin-
gle aspect of MIUI (for instance, voice recorder, notification Results of degree centrality analysis indicate that long-
bar). These features could be used to identify key sources of time users were better able to filter and identify important
new information early to foster a sustainable balance between features or bugs of interest to the majority, as those who
new posts and comments. created the most popular polls (that is, high in-degree; see
Table 2) tended to spend much more time (averaging total
Information absorption. The absorption information prac- 4,60 h per user vs. 67.2) in the online platform. Commu-
tice focuses on integrating external information with internal nity analysis of the interactions in the online platform
information to augment information products, by engaging offers more concrete details about consensus. A subset of
both professional staff and users in the online community to staff and users (represented by nodes) in a network is con-
negotiate their perspectives. Xiaomi’s absorption practice sidered a community or a social cluster if nodes in this
partly occurs through the activity named “polling,” in which cluster have denser links with nodes within the group than

TABLE 1. Users with highest degree centrality in the new feature suggestion activity.

In-degree centrality (based on comments received) Out-degree centrality (based on comments on other posts)
No. No. Time Time
of of spent Login No. of No. of spent Login
Degree Username Topic of posts posts replies (hour) (day) Degree Username posts replies (hour) (day)
201 (  3 ) Transport payment 975 3,450 122 64 572 啊我看到那 110 36,622 259 71
169 颁布了统一 Voice recorder, notification 753 2,620 120 59 469 fyx2002 20 16,352 885 90
bar, camera, screenshot
145 啊我看到那 Browser, notification bar, 110 36,622 259 71 352 langkiss 69 11,289 951 152
voice wake
124 Sunshineeeeeeee Aauto start, notification 185 8,451 2,021 25 315 辽紫叶 103 3,174 38 160
bar, icon
103 威武哒 Second space, camera, 880 3,684 74 895 265 Bugkillman 374 15,747 311 74
speech
recognition, gesture
Average 580.6 10,965.4 519.2 222.8 Average 135.2 16,636.8 488.8 109.4

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TABLE 2. Users with highest degree centrality in the polling activity.

In-degree centrality (based on comments received) Out-degree centrality (based on comments on other posts)
No. of No. of Time spent Login No. of No. of Time spent Login
Degree Username posts replies (hours) days Degree Username posts replies (hours) days
2714 levialv 11 1,971 153 70 262 DJ次郎 22 1,544 22 59
1622 WGzeyu_ 98 633 104 1,606 179 豆沙包2 20 1,550 64 59
1602 PhilipYoung 10 661 78 33 169 WGzeyu_ 98 633 104 1,606
920 花折、花开 158 1,382 417 39 52 3311314500 3 288 47 10
559 cyuil 38 1,556 1,548 599 41 超能少年… 106 2,184 99 112
Average 63 1,240.6 460 469.4 Average 49.8 1,239.8 67.2 369.2

TABLE 3. Results of community analysis.

Cluster measure New feature submission Bug reporting Polling Beta release
Total no. of clusters 541 2,684 34 648
% of nodes in the largest cluster 10.78 21.57 30.82 60.42
% of nodes in the second largest cluster 8.37 18.73 14.96 4.68
% of nodes in the third largest cluster 4.29 11.38 8.71 4.01
Clustering coefficient of the largest cluster 0.084 0.044 0.013 0.000
Clustering coefficient of the second largest cluster 0.001 0.058 0.013 0.000
Clustering coefficient of the third largest cluster 0.037 0.062 0.009 0.003
Topic(s) in the largest cluster Torchlight, Battery Camera, Change log
power saving visual effects
Topic(s) in the second largest cluster Speaker Battery drain, Second space Preview of
unexpected restart, beta release
process error
Topic(s) in the third largest cluster Brightness, Heat, payment, Weather, map Comparison of
keyboard bluetooth MIUI versions

with nodes outside the group (Wasserman & Faust, 1994). Information Desorption
We found that nodes in the polling activity formed 34 clus-
The information practice of desorption focuses on dissem-
ters, which is much less compared to 541 in the new fea-
inating the information product embodying the cocreated
ture suggestion activity and 2,684 in bug reporting. The
information value to users online, so that the value can be
three largest clusters in the polling activity (see Table 3)
realized through adoption and use. These human and non-
discussed camera functions, the Second Space function, and
human elements are co-constitutive in actualizing the value.
the weather app. These show that user interactions became
Xiaomi releases a new beta version through its online
more focused in polling (see visualization in Figure 6) and
cocreation platform every Friday, along with a description of
users were most interested in improving these three aspects.
new features and bug fixes, detailed installation guide, and
The very small clustering coefficients indicate that users
hyperlinks to user feedback as well as the “new feature sug-
within each cluster tend to discuss by replying to the poster
rather than replying to other users’ comments. gestion” and “bug report” activities (see Figure 7). Users
The sociomateriality of the absorption practice is also could also seek help from staff or other users by posting
consolidating in that the integration of external and internal questions in the online forum. Users are encouraged to pro-
information augments the information product. Based on vide feedback online, by rating or commenting on the new
poll results and its technical expertise, Xiaomi prioritized version or submitting an “experience report.” The experience
new features / bug fixes and was able to identify those that report consists of four components: attitude, favorite new fea-
could be implemented swiftly yet significantly improve user sat- ture / bug fix, the most anticipated new feature / bug fix, and
isfaction. The direct involvement of elite users in development the most “ungeliable” (a popular Chinglish term meaning
alongside staff also allowed Xiaomi to shorten the learning unsatisfactory) new feature / bug fix. The reports are compiled
curve and integrate new features or bug fixes rapidly. These on Wednesdays and the staff team that developed the most
users voted with their feet and provided the technical skills favorite new feature/bug fix will receive the “Popcorn award”:
needed to realize their suggestions. A manager explained:
Internally, we have a ‘Popcorn Award’ for staff. Based on
Some users don’t just criticize, they suggest solutions and users’ feedback on a beta version, the most favorite new
even create prototypes. … They help us with the preliminary feature/bug fix is identified, and the team that developed it will
work and reduce our workload. There are about ten or twenty be recognized. The team gets a tub of popcorn, and a divine
of such users among a few thousand of them. sense of honor.

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FIG. 6. Three largest clusters of cocreation activities (nodes: users; lines: user–user interactions; each cluster is represented with a different color). [Color
figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

FIG. 7. Screenshot of a new beta release post (English translation in brackets). [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

The sociomaterial assemblage in the desorption infor- with installation from the online community consisting of
mation practice drove rapid adoption of a new product ver- staff and users. There was also a community of alpha tes-
sion by being communal. New users could get instant help ters who would readily accept and try a new version.

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Analysis of the online platform shows that each beta release With each beta release, Xiaomi also acknowledges two
post was viewed by 496,636.4 users and saved by 238,731 users with “special thanks,” for providing the most valu-
users on average. About 28% of the views occurred within able information in the form of ideas or bug reports leading
the first 2 days of beta release. Alpha testers were automati- to a new version.
cally notified of a new version, and because new versions Overall, the cocreated information value realized is made
were released regularly, it felt almost habitual to adopt the lat- observable in multiple ways for different groups of users
est version, as a user commented: and staff. This makes it easier for different cocreation partic-
ipants to see the realized value of information cocreation
The latest beta release is not yet posted … hanging around for and is more in line with the multiperspective nature of
the new version released weekly has become a habit for users.
cocreation. This is also more convincing than showing only
product rating and feedback.
Many alpha testers and other elite users regularly try out
new versions and provide feedback in order to maintain Relationship between information practices. Xiaomi’s
their privileged social status in the online community. Anal- case shows that the information practices of adsorption,
ysis of interactions in the online platform indicates that each absorption, and desorption are related in a spiraling loop that
weekly beta release gets an average of 1,015 replies and up sustains information value cocreation. The looping is driven
to 4,104 replies. The first user reply is received within by the desorption practice; specifically, the demonstration of
2 hours on average. realized cocreated value in different ways. The demonstrated
The sociomateriality of desorption practice allowed the value propels further contribution of new information, ignit-
demonstration of realized cocreated information value to dif- ing new instances of the adsorption practice. The large
ferent participants in a corroborating way. Feedback on a amount of new information in turn calls for consensual
new version was gathered from staff (in alpha tests), elite negotiation so the most valuable information can be inte-
users who participated in various cocreation activities, as grated in the absorption practice. Looping through the infor-
well as common users. The online platform made it possible mation practices ensures that there is a continuous inflow of
to gather feedback from different participants quickly. Anal- fresh external information and relentless information value
ysis of the online platform shows that each weekly release cocreation for an ever-improving product. A manager inter-
received up to 4,104 comments from staff and users and viewed described the importance of external information
1,015 comments on average. Analysis of degree centrality accessed through cocreation:
indicates that the most interactive nodes were staff engineers
who received comments for posting previews of or hyper- We have long-, mid-, and short- term user needs. The long-
links to new beta versions. Among the users, the most inter- term needs are discussed in monthly internal meetings with
active were those who posted comparisons of different beta our CEO. Mid- and short-term needs basically emerge based
versions or comprehensive reviews of the latest version. on fragmented information in interactions with users, which
Community analysis of the social network highlights one often lead to adjustments in the long-term needs.
very large cluster constituting 60.42% of nodes discussing
changes to a new version. Taken together, these provide Each loop in the cocreation spiral builds on previous loops
concrete evidence that the main concern of different users in in that the cocreated information is seeded by bugs or new
the desorption practice was the value added by a new ver- features arising in previous versions and the information
sion. In the online platform, the cocreated value is demon- product is enhanced with each information cocreation loop.
strated in various ways, including percentage of alpha The case also indicates that the information value cocreation
testers recommending a version and bar charts summarizing spiral can be very rapid, despite the large number and diversity
“experience reports.” One of the bar charts identifies the best of participants. Xiaomi’s weekly cocreation is made possible
new feature or bug fix, which pinpoints the specific aspect by its empowering adsorption practice, consolidating absorp-
of a new version most valued by the majority of users and tion practice, and communal desorption practice. In adsorption,
thereby clarify the value of cocreation to users. For Xiaomi Xiaomi is able to attract a large amount of information because
staff, the cocreated value is demonstrated by publicly recog- users find the powerful elite status strongly appealing and want
nizing the team that developed the best cocreated feature to earn the prestigious honor. In absorption, valuable external
information can be integrated with internal information swiftly
voted by users with the “Popcorn Award” on the company’s
because the practice allows high-impact, low-effort new fea-
Wall of Honor. This shows to staff in general the impor-
tures or bug fixes to be identified through voting and more chal-
tance of information cocreated with users, in terms of new
lenging ones to be implemented by directly involving geek
ideas, bug reports, technical solutions, as well as feedback
users. In desorption, rapid adoption of and feedback on a new
they contributed throughout cocreation. As an engineer
product version is driven by a community of alpha testers and
interviewed emphasized:
elite users who want to maintain or improve their user rank.
We have a quality committee that would identify the top ten The sociomateriality of these information practices work in
feedback daily after a beta release. The feedback is then shared concert to ensure that information is cocreated at a high speed
with engineers. … This is very valuable to our understanding. and its value is realized and made visible promptly. Although

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the rapid spiraling approach is not immune to mistakes, con- observed that Xiaomi’s user ranking tended to acknowledge
stant enhancements increase its robustness, as an engineer inter- pro-users or geek users who were more knowledgeable about
viewed explained: software engineering, as they were more likely to be selected
to join the elite group by engineers. This appeared to have
We had developed and implemented features that turned out attracted the participation of pro-users much more than other
to be not really useful. But because we update the product users. Analysis of the online interactions supports this obser-
weekly with a new version, it’s okay to make some mistakes. vation: although the proportion of pro-users was small, almost
We will be able to correct it in two weeks. half of the new feature suggestions were contributed by them
(25,063 vs. 26,980 posts). To ensure the diversity of external
information, user ranking should be designed to acknowledge
Implications for IT Design and Use different types of users.
To draw implications for IT design and use, we critically The absorption practice foregrounded the most valuable
analyzed the information practices as per the social infor- external information through voting by being consensual.
matics perspective. To unravel nondeterministic, unantici- Despite the wide reach of IT, it is important to remain aware
pated issues in IT design and use, we look beyond the that the poll results have limited generalizability, as they
recurrent patterns of activities and outcomes in the three exclude many other major user groups who are less avid in
practices and focus on notable deviations from the typical, software development. The online polling results should be
as discussed next and summarized in Table 4. complemented with data from other sources, especially for
The encompassing nature of adsorption allowed Xiaomi to decisions that would affect the majority of users. An engi-
access diverse external information for cocreation, but also neer highlighted a related consideration when determining
had the unintended effect of increasing information noise. whether to implement a new feature:
The online cocreation platform allowed user–user interactions
and users sometimes digressed into topics unrelated to the The new feature has to be easy to learn. Some new features
information product. Recognizing the necessity of personal suggested online were too difficult for the majority of users
interactions in building a community, Xiaomi managed and they turned out to be meaningless despite being great
this by creating a separate, miscellaneous discussion forum ideas.
for off-topic discussions. Moderators would shift posts irrele-
vant to new feature suggestion or bug reports to the forum The absorption practice was also consolidating in that exter-
as necessary. Guidelines for posting were also provided to nal information was integrated with Xiaomi’s knowledge to
users. resolve conflicting preferences and technical incompatibili-
The adsorption practice also empowered users through ties to augment the information product. However, users
user ranking to increase participation. Paradoxically, this sometimes expressed negative feelings online when their
could have limited the diversity of participants over time. We preferences were not incorporated:

TABLE 4. Implications for IT use and design based on social informatics analysis

Nature of sociomateriality and

implication for information value
Information practice cocreation Unanticipated issues Implications for IT use and design
Adsorption Encompassing: allow access to Increased information noise (for Dedicate an online space for
diverse external information instance, digressions) off-topic discussions (for instance,
miscellaneous forum)
Empowering: allow access to new User ranking criteria might limit the Ensure that user ranking
external information continuously diversity of participants acknowledges different types of
users
Absorption Consensus: helps identify the most Online polling is not generalizable to Complement online polling results
valuable external information users not participating in the with data from other sources when
online platform considering major changes
Consolidating: helps integrate Some users express negative feelings Publish developer stories online to
external and internal information online when their preferences are justify design choices
to augment information product not incorporated
rapidly
Desorption Communal: promotes rapid adoption Anti-rollback in some Xiaomi Publish the security risks of allowing
and use of new product versions devices beginning July 2018 unlimited rollback online
discouraged some users to try new
versions
Corroborating: helps demonstrate the Information cocreation also adds Publish developer stories online to
realized value of cocreated value to users by enhancing their share technical details of new
information convincingly knowledge features or bug fixes

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Can’t stand the advertisements! What happened to the promise drives further contributions of new information (that is, enact
to add an off switch!!! adsorption), thereby creating a spiraling loop that perpetuates
cocreation. Research on cocreation has begun to emphasize the
To manage conflicts and alleviate negative feelings, Xiaomi need for constant cocreation to ensure access to the latest exter-
engineers often discuss technical details and justify design nal information such as emerging user preference (for instance,
choices by publishing developer stories online shortly after Ramaswamy & Ozcan, 2016). This study contributes to the
a new beta release. growing information value cocreation research by detailing
The desorption practice promoted rapid adoption of new information practices that make this possible. Xiaomi’s case
product versions by being communal and this contributed to also illustrates that the realized value of information cocreation
constant product enhancement. Unexpectedly, MIUI had ad- can be demonstrated online using a variety of IT artifacts, such
vanced to a point where it became unsafe to allow unlimited as rating scale and forum posts. As Repo (1986) explained,
rollback to earlier versions. Beginning in July 2018, Xiaomi information value cannot be quantified directly and must be
decided to implement anti-rollback in some devices to main- observed from different viewpoints and levels. When under-
tain security and quality and this had dampened some users’ standing information value, it is necessary to ask users’ opinion
willingness to try new versions, as a user commented: and account for the context of use.
Second, the information practices also shed light on the
Not sure if I should try the new version … will I be able to sociomaterial mechanisms underlying rapid information value
roll back to my preferred version? cocreation. Specifically, the empowering nature of adsorption
strongly attracts external information sources to Xiaomi’s
To alleviate users’ concern, Xiaomi staff created online online cocreation platform; the consolidating nature of ab-
posts to explain the rationale and highlight the security sorption expedites the incorporation of new features or bug
risks of allowing unlimited rollback. Xiaomi also began fixes, as knowledgeable users are involved directly in soft-
providing information about rollback options along with ware engineering; the communal nature of desorption creates
each new beta release. a favorable condition for immediate adoption of and feedback
Desorption was also corroborating in that the cocreated on new product versions. Rapid cocreation is especially use-
information value was demonstrated for different participants ful for information products that evolve quickly or when user
in various ways, such as overall rating of a new version and preferences are critical (Gardien, Djajadiningrat, Hummels, &
the favorite new feature. In addition to an enhanced informa- Brombacher, 2014). Fast-tracking new features or bug fixes
tion product and better addressing users’ pain points, topic accelerates the realization of cocreated information value and
modeling indicates that cocreation could benefit users by visibly demonstrates the benefits of cocreation to participants.
augmenting their knowledge, as “learn” is found to be a key- Third, critical analysis of the three information practices
word in discussions of new versions (see Table 4). By regu- based on the social informatics perspective uncovers unan-
larly posting the technical details and design rationale behind ticipated or paradoxical issues that affect IT design and use
a new feature or new version in developer stories, Xiaomi (see Table 4). For example, the encompassing nature of
shares its knowledge and experience of cocreating the prod- adsorption attracts diverse external information that enriches
uct. This extends the cocreated information value through information value cocreation but also increases information
reciprocal application of information and knowledge through noise. To manage the latter, a miscellaneous forum should
information practices for the benefit of one another. This be created and volunteer moderators should be recruited to
learning enables users to participate more effectively in fur- manage posts. While empowering users with virtual ranking
ther cocreation. and elite membership entices them to contribute informa-
tion, it could also limit the diversity of information if it
favors pro-users. The user ranking mechanism should be
Discussion
designed to acknowledge different contributions. We also
Examining information value cocreation from the social found that the cocreated information value manifests for
informatics perspective, this study set out to draw implica- users as improved knowledge about a product, in addition to
tions for IT design and use by investigating Xiaomi’s online addressing their product needs. The learning allows users to
software cocreation. Sociotechnical relationships among peo- participate in the software’s continuous development.
ple, IT, information, and activities were first foregrounded in Fourth, this study also contributes to research by demon-
terms of information practices. Critical analyses of the prac- strating the utility of incorporating an understanding of prac-
tices revealed nontechnology–deterministic and paradoxical tices into the social informatics perspective for deepening our
issues in IT design and use. The implications of these find- understanding of information value cocreation, addressing the
ings for research and practice are discussed next. growing need to orient information science research to
First, the three information practices of adsorption, absorp- address the topic of information value in the contemporary
tion, and desorption help to clarify the sociomaterial assem- era (Foster & Clough, 2018). Analyzing information practices
blages and their roles in sustaining information value helps to clarify the interrelationships among people, IT, infor-
cocreation. We found that demonstrating the realized value of mation, and activities and how they co-constitute one another
information cocreation for different participants in desorption in turning external information into cocreated information

JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY—April 2020 421
DOI: 10.1002/asi
 23301643, 2020, 4, Downloaded from https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.24252 by University Of Canberra Library, Wiley Online Library on [21/08/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
value. For example, without an appreciation of the socio- Isah, E.E., & Byström, K. (2016). Physicians’ learning at work through
material assemblage, our analysis would be restricted to dis- everyday access to information. Journal of the Association for Informa-
tion Science and Technology, 67(2), 318–332.
parate elements and it would be difficult to go beyond the Jarrahi, M.H., & Nelson, S.B. (2018). Agency, sociomateriality, and con-
motivating effect of online user ranking to detect its power- figuration work. The Information Society, 34(4), 244–260.
balancing effect and the paradoxical effect of attracting exter- Jarrahi, M.H., & Thomson, L. (2017). The interplay between information
nal information while limiting information diversity. Going practices and information context: The case of mobile knowledge
beyond a descriptive and analytical account of the practices workers. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Tech-
nology, 68(5), 1073–1089.
to critically analyze the information practices from the social Klein, H.K., & Myers, M.D. (1999). A set of principles for conducting
informatics perspective allows us to derive actionable insights and evaluating interpretive field studies in information systems. MIS
for IT design and use. Quarterly, 23, 67–93.
Fifth, this study also demonstrates a mixed-data, mixed- Kling, R. (2000). Learning about information technologies and social
methods approach to study information value cocreation with change: The contribution of social informatics. The Information Soci-
ety, 16(3), 217–232.
the user community. Although researchers studying value cre- Kling, R. (2007). What is social informatics and why does it matter? The
ation and online communities have called for this approach Information Society, 23(4), 205–220.
(Wenger, Tayner, & de Laat, 2011; Whelan et al., 2016), Lloyd, A. (2011). Trapped between a rock and a hard place: What counts
such studies remain rare. Wenger et al. (2011) emphasized as information literacy in the workplace and how is it conceptualized?
that value creation stories should be complemented with addi- Library Trends, 60(2), 277–296.
Mainka, A., Castelnovo, W., Miettinen, V., Bech-Petersen, S., Hartmann,
tional quantitative indicators, such as social network analysis S., & Stock, W.G. (2016). Open innovation in smart cities: Civic participa-
demonstrating the patterns of online interactions. Similarly, tion and cocreation of public services. Proceedings of the Association for
Whelan et al. (2016) highlighted the need for studies of Information Science and Technology, 53(1), 1–5.
online social networks to complement quantitative analytics McCaskill, S. (2018). Xiaomi and Huawei drive smartphone growth as Apple
of large trace data with qualitative approaches to address and Samsung chase revenue. Retrieved from https://www.techradar.com/
news/xiaomi-and-huawei-drive-smartphone-growth-as-apple-and-samsung-
questions that matter. As this study has shown, a qualitative chase-revenue
analytics approach deepens our understanding of the phenom- McCoy, C., & Rosenbaum, H. (2019). Uncovering unintended and shadow
enon than either alone provides. practices of users of decision support system dashboards in higher educa-
tion institutions. Journal of the Association for Information Science and
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Nambisan, S., & Baron, R.A. (2009). Virtual customer environments:
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422 JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY—April 2020
DOI: 10.1002/asi